Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Bottle 35,5 cl. Slightly hazy amber golden with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of yeast and overripe fruit and alcohol. Quite full-bodied, yeasty, some caramel and a burning alcohol finish. Not much Belgian Wit left in this one! 060709

Name: Imperial White
Date: May 25, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ticker Tasting
Appearance: cloudy orange, fine off white head, scattered lace
Aroma: sweet spiced candy aroma, lots of candy sweetness, nice complex spicyness, fruity orange and banana
Flavor: sweet and fruity flavor, sticky candy sweetness, touch of alcohol, nice spicyness, orange and banana, light bitterness
Overall: nice fruity candy in a glass
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

The description says it pushes the boundaries of a witbier. Yeah, it does. Right out the f’n window. Just a hard bottle to choke down after awhile, let alone enjoy. Aroma is hand lotion with rubbing alcohol. I know, not really encompasing but everytime I went to the beer to smell it, it smelled like hand lotion and alcohol. On the palate, the beer smacks of a screwdriver (the mixed drink, not the tool), with herbs and spices. It’s interesting for the first 1/2 of the beer, but just got tired of it.

12 oz. bottle. I approached this beer thinking it was an imperial version of their White Ale, which I like. This beer, I didn’t care for as much. Pours a slightly hazed copper with a moderate linen white head. The aroma is the requisite orange and coriander, but it is also boozy along with some vanilla. The flavor again has the orange and coriander one expects from a wit, but there is a definite alcohol presence also in the flavor along with some vanilla that creates a fake barrel-aging flavor, if that makes sense. Thick, cloying mouthfeel. Not something I’d look to revisit.

12 ounce bottle purchased at Total Wine Pembroke Pines, FL for $2.99 Just good.

I have an open mind towards beer, but find this one to be repulsive. A witbier is a delicate, light, refreshing thing - this one is none of those. This beer is overpowering, with a sweet rotting graininess in place of the pleasant wheatiness and citrus notes I expected. I get that this is supposed to have all those attributes we like about witbiers just amplified, but this is not that to me...I am not finding those flavors to be louder, I am finding them to also be completely distorted into off-notes I don’t care for. Combine that with a lot of booziness (which I’m OK with if the beer is giving me something else to hang in there for), and the flavor of this beer is a miss for me. Other notes: the color is a hazy orange with medium head formation, and the aroma is an isoamyl acetate warning of things to come. This is a drain pour. I would suggest avoiding this one. Thanks to JaBier for providing this one, even though I did not enjoy it.

Pours a caramel color with white head. Aroma is fruity and yeast. Flavor was citrus fruits (orange and lemon), pale malts, mild peppery spice and a mild hop bitterness. A very interesting beer to say the least. Not overpowering in any sense, but very tasty. I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the alcohol, but it was very well hidden.

12 oz. bottle purchased from Total Wine Perimeter. Fluffy head fades away quickly. Leaves a thin head. Dark orange color. Looks pretty good. 10.3% alcohol...nice! Very fruity aroma. Pungent brew. Nice citrus fruit aroma. Very interesting aroma, to me it seems a bit artificial. High ABV gets in the way of the fruit/citrus flavor; it (the fruit/flavor) is still there, but again the alcohol is slightly intrusive. Creamy palate; a very smooth beer. Not a lot of spices. Overall, just an artificial Leinenkugel-type flavor. Still, a very nice offering from Samuel Adams.